


Hiding

by finally_isaac



Series: 2020 Commissions [6]
Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Cute Fat Nuggets (Hazbin Hotel), Family Dinners, Flashbacks, Gen, Mentions of Angel Dust's family, Minor Charlie Magne/Vaggie, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Unreliable Narrator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:08:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27374722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/finally_isaac/pseuds/finally_isaac
Summary: Angel, desperate for a free room, attempts to hide Fat Nuggets from the hotel staff... But the curious princess and her nosey girlfriend seem determined to make his life difficult.This story takes place between the Prequel Comic and The Pilot.
Series: 2020 Commissions [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1903261
Comments: 17
Kudos: 44





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Gloxinia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gloxinia/gifts).



Moving into the Happy Hotel should have been relatively easy, all things considered… The Princess ー _"Since we're friends now, you should call me Charlie!"_ ー had paid for a moving van and workers, so all Angel had to do was sit back and watch! Easy.

Except it wasn’t easy. 

The Princess and her uptight girlfriend had come to supervise everything ー though they claimed they were there to help ー and Angel’s nerves were through the roof. He didn’t want them to confiscate any of his stuff, damn it! He worked hard and paid good money for his toys and outfits; if two holier-than-thou, stuck-up, bitchy do-gooders thought they could take his stuff, then they had another thing coming! 

Really though, he could handle losing a few vibrators or handcuffs ー objects that could be replaced later. He had another reason to be sneaking around, moving things into the vans when Charlie and Vaggie were distracted.

He wasn’t going to let them confiscate Fat Nuggets.

When he had agreed to move into the hotel, he had never thought to ask if pets were allowed. Now it was too late to ask and he wasn’t about to skip out on a chance for a free room ー especially since they’d recently told him there was also a free meal plan! Dinner every weeknight? Considering Valentino’s habit of raising Angel’s dues every week, the spider couldn’t afford to give up Charlie’s offer.

He would, though, if they tried to take Nuggs.

The only logical solution at this point was to hide the pig. Smuggling the litter box and pig-toys into the moving van had been easy enough (he’d coerced some of the younger, more attractive workers into helping him. A wink here, a sway of the hips there… They, like most men, were predictably easy to coerce), but finding a way to transport the little ball of sunshine himself was turning out to be more difficult.

“C’mon, babycakes,” he murmured gently. Leaving the pig alone in the moving van wasn’t viable, so carrying Fat Nuggets himself was his only option. He’d found an old backpack to work as a carrier.

Who knew demon piglets were so claustrophobic?

“Shush, darling, I know,” the spider cooed as he attempted to wrangle the squealing animal into the bag. There were blankets to coddle Fat Nuggets, as well as the pigs’ favourite chew toy, but nothing seemed to convince the whining animal that it would be a safe trip. “C’mon, stop thrashin’... I know, I know…” He continued to frantically shush and gently nudge ー The Princess and The Princess’ girlfriend were waiting for him and he didn’t have time to be fighting a distressed pig.

He was so busy trying to convince his pet to calm down that he didn’t hear the door open behind him.

“Angel? Is everything alright?” 

The tall man turned around quickly, pushing Fat Nuggets into the backpack behind him with more aggression then he meant to. He winced and sent a silent apology to the pig before looking towards the Princess. “Everythings fine!”

Charlie tilted her head curiously, trying to look behind the spider ー he moved quickly to block her view. “Are you sure?” she asked, “If there’s anything I can do to help, you can tell me.”

Angel was quick to bite back a scathing remark. He couldn’t tell her _anything_ ; providing her ammo to use against him would stab him in the back sooner than later. Instead, he plastered on a sugary-sweet smile and nodded. “Will do, Princess, but everything is fine. No worries.” 

“Charlie,” she corrected gently, offering him a smile in return. It looked genuine enough… Her acting prowess was certainly impressive. “We’re friends, so-” 

“Charlie,” he interrupted before she could start babbling about _friendship and rainbows_ , “Right. I’ll remember this time.” 

Her smile only grew, spreading to her bright eyes. “Wonderful! We’re almost done so I was thinking… Would you like to join Vaggie and me for dinner?” 

Angel grimaced slightly. A rejection was ready on his tongue but before he could speak, Fat Nuggets jerked violently behind him. “Sound great!” he shouted to cover the squeal that followed, “After I settle into my room at the hotel?”

“Absolutely,” the Princess nodded eagerly, “I’ll go tell Vaggie you said yes!” She turned to leave ー Angel even dared to sigh with relief ー but she quickly turned back towards him again. “Angel?”

“Yes?” he asked as sweetly as he could manage through grit teeth. Why wouldn’t she leave?!

Her smile turned soft. “Thank you again. Having you at the hotel… Well, your participation means the world to me.” 

“Don’t mention it.”

She smiled again, clearly delighted, then turned and ran out of the room.

Angel waited for her footsteps to disappear, waited until he was certain he was alone, then turned around to peer into the backpack. “Nuggs!” he scolded. The pig only stared back at him, confused by the anger in his tone, so Angel sighed and decided to let the behaviour slide. “Baby boy,” he cooed, petting down the length of the animals’ back and spines with a gentle hand, “I need you to do this for Mama. An hour in this backpack, that’s all… I’ll give ya a treat when we get to the shitty hotel, okay? Can you do that, Nuggy?” 

The pig blinked, snorted, then nuzzled deeper into the blankets that had been stuffed around the bottom of the backpack.

“Good boy,” Angel cheered softly, “Now you just be quiet in there, sweetheart.” 

Hesitantly, he pulled the zipper of the backpack. Was this animal abuse? He hoped not… It wasn’t like anyone would care ー they were in Hell, after all. Still, he didn’t want Fat Nuggets to have any reason to distrust him. He left the zipper open a few inches, just in case.

When he finally walked out of his now-empty apartment, backpack strapped tightly around his shoulders, the moving truck was gone. Charlie and Vaggie were leaning against a long limousine, hands clasped between them and chatting quietly. Charlie grinned when she noticed him approaching. “Ready to go?”

Angel nodded. “Ready as I’ll ever be,” he told her with a smile so fake it hurt his cheeks. 

Ah, he still hadn’t told Val about the move, had he? Another problem to add to the list… 

Charlie and Vaggie slipped into the limo gracefully. Angel followed inside ー with much less grace ー as he attempted to keep the backpack from bumping into anything. He found himself practically crawling across the seats until he could sit down, tilted at an odd angle.

“Y’know,” Vaggie started after clearing her throat, “You could set the backpack on the seat beside you. There’s enough room.” The raise of her brow made it clear that she was suspicious.

Suspicious of what? Angel wasn’t sure ー he idly supposed it could be because of his odd behaviour concerning the backpack ー but he took offence to it regardless. He was doing a nice thing for them, moving into the hotel to help the Princess achieve her pipe dreams! How dare Vaggie be suspicious of his good deeds! 

“I could,” he replied, grinning at her, “But the thing is, I don’t wanna.” 

Vaggie immediately narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips. “Right,” she muttered, clearly reigning in her annoyance. 

Angel Dust took that as a personal challenge. What would it take to make Vaggie break? 

“Besides,” the spider continued with a smirk, “There’s valuable stuff in here. I wouldn’t want either of you to steal it.” 

The Princess seemed immediately concerned. “We would neverー” she started to protest but her girlfriend cut her off.

“Why would we do that?!” the moth girl hissed, leaning forward in her seat. “You’re our guest! We’re not going to fucking steal from you.”

He hummed non-committedly while examining his nails. “Coulda’ fooled me, sister. You seem _real_ interested in what I’ve got.” 

Before Vaggie could throw an insult ー or, perhaps, a punch ー Charlie laid a gentle hand on her shoulder and interjected; “Nobody is going to steal from you, Angel, I promise! In fact, the hotel strives to offer its patrons as much protection and privacy as possible.” 

Privacy, huh? Somehow, Angel doubted that.

Still, he offered Charlie a mostly-genuine smile. “Good. Glad to hear it.”

Vaggie huffed, clearly irritated, but said nothing more. Her attention turned to the tinted windows and she watched the rose-hued streets pass by. 

⧫⧫⧫ 

When they arrived at the hotel, Angel was ushered inside by an excited Princess. “I’ve picked the best room for you!” she insisted, a careful hand on his lower back to hurry him through the front doors. “It’s one of the bigger rooms, but I noticed that your old apartment had blocked off windows so I made sure to pick a room with smaller windows. Oh! And there’s a walk-in closet next to the bathroom that I thought you could use for your wigs. Really, it all worked out perfectly-” 

She continued to ramble on and on about the room but Angel barely listened, too distracted by his new surroundings. The lobby wasn’t impressive at all; a small couch sat in the corner and the rest of the room was bare, although littered with half-empty boxes and paint-chipped pillars. It took him a long moment to notice a mini-fridge leaning against the wall, half-collapsed on itself. The building smelt damp and musty.

He didn’t want to ruin Charlie’s excitement but… “This place is a dump.”

Her mouth immediately shut with an audible click. Angel watched as her smile faded into something that was nearly a frown. “We’re still cleaning up,” she admitted, “But once we have more patrons and some extra money, it’ll be much better! I have big plans.”

“You’re the Princess of Hell,” Angel chuckled, “You’ve got the money.”

“My _parents_ have the money,” Charlie corrected. Angel didn’t have a chance to respond before she was leading him towards an elevator. “Your room is only on the second floor. Let’s get you up there so you can settle in before dinner.”

His room wasn’t any more impressive than the lobby. Although, there was more furniture! A large bed sat low to the ground, a sturdy-looking dresser was placed snugly in the corner, and a shabby armchair had been positioned near one of the tiny windows… Not much better than his old apartment, Angel thought, but at least this was free.

“The moving van probably got lost on the way here,” Charlie stated with certainty, “But your stuff should be here by the time we finish dinner. We’ll help you bring everything inside. If you need help unpacking, we could come to help tomorrow morning. Sound good?” 

Angel nodded. “Yeah, sure, sounds great.” 

“Cool beans,” Charlie grinned. “I’ll let you settle in and whatnot. Dinner will be ready in an hour or so.” 

Again, Angel nodded.

Then Charlie was gone and Angel was finally able to let out a breath of relief. Weren’t royal children supposed to be pompous and overly polite? Charlie was so chatty and acted like everyone she met was her new best friend… It was unnerving, to say the least. Angel couldn’t figure out her objectives. 

Honestly, what purpose could a hotel for rehabilitating sinners have? Obviously, it had to be a cover story… But for what?

He tried to put those thoughts out of his brain.

“Nuggies,” he cooed, pulling the backpack off carefully to finally free his favourite pig, “We’re here! You canー” 

“Who’re you talking to?”

The spider quickly pulled the backpack behind him, zipper half-open, at the sound of Vaggie’s voice. “No one,” he replied quickly, trying to suppress a glare behind a smile. Charlie had left his door wide open, giving Vaggie a perfect view as she walked by.

“You were definitely talking to somebody,” the girl answered with a huff, “Unless you’re a psycho who talks to himself in a baby voice.” 

“So what if I am?” Angel asked, mock-offence in his tone, “Is that a crime?” 

Vaggie, predictable as ever, bristled at the comment. “No,” she replied, “But it _is_ annoying.”

Angel rolled his eyes. “This is my room, right? I can do whatever I want in here. Get used to it.”

She seemed to study him for a moment, then glanced around quickly in search of something. She must have found whatever it was because she soon stalked forward into Angel’s room. “I don’t know what you’re playing at,” she started, her glare fierce, “But if you do anything to jeopardize Charlie or this hotelー” 

Again, Angel rolled his eyes. “Calm down, I’m not gonna hurt your girlfriend. What type of guy do ya take me for?” 

Vaggie’s glare continued for a second, searching Angel’s eyes for any sign that he was lying. “Fine,” she nodded, “As long as you plan to play nice then… Fine. Whatever. Talk to yourself all you want.” She turned to walk out of the room, pulling the door closed as she went. Before it shut completely, she turned and offered the smallest smile to the spider. “Sorry for, like, judging you… I do appreciate what you’re doing here. Being a patron, that is. It’s cool of you to do this.” 

Fat Nuggets chose that moment to wiggle around, surprising Angel enough to drop the backpack. 

In his panic, he rushed forward to usher Vaggie away quickly. “No problem, toots,” he stated loudly, “Don’t even mention it. My pleasure, y’know? Anything for Princess Sunshine!” He insistently started to close the door, “If that’s everything, I really should be settlin’ in, y’know? I’ll see you gals at dinner.” 

Vaggie barely had time to stutter her agreement and general confusion before the door slammed behind her. The sound startled Fat Nuggets. He tumbled onto the floor along with his blankets. The small pig squealed in fear while running towards Angel’s feet.

Angel, forehead resting against the closed door, sighed heavily. “You’d be the death of me, Nuggs,” he stated with an exhausted sigh, “If I weren’t already dead, that is.” 

The pig only continued to squeal, jumping up on Angel’s legs in a fruitless attempt to climb the spider. 

Laughing weakly, Angel leaned down and swept the shaking animal into his arms. “It’s okay,” he cooed sweetly, “Mama’s sorry about dropping you, okay? And for closing the door too loud. Everything is gonna be okay.” 

Fat Nuggets continued to oink and grunt in distress as he rubbed his snout into the fur on Angel’s chest but his shaking ceased.

⧫⧫⧫ 

It took nearly half an hour for Angel to calm his pet down completely, and twice that to find a suitable hiding spot for the pig. The bathroom wasn’t huge but it was big enough for the pig to walk around in circles and Angel laid down an old blanket to improvise as a bed until the moving truck arrived. “I’ll make sure to bring you some table scraps since your food is in the moving truck,” the spider promised while he plopped Fat Nuggets onto the blanket. He was already silently berating himself for the lack of forethought. “Don’t make a mess,” he begged the pig, “Just be a good boy and nap until I get back. I won’t be long.” 

He was already running late for dinner. Charlie had texted him ten minutes ago to say everything was ready. 

Fat Nuggets tried to follow Angel out of the bathroom. With a soft laugh, Angel stuck a foot out to gently nudge the pig back inside. “Stay,” he scolded in a slow voice, “Stay right there, Mister.” The commands flew by deaf ears but Angel was able to close the door with careful movements and a quick flick of his wrist. 

The pig immediately began to scratch his hooves against the door, causing Angel to idly hope that he wasn’t required to pay for any damages such as scratched or chipped paint. 

The spider was surprised to find that navigating the hotel was incredibly easy. Each floor seemed to simply be one long hallway lined with doors on either side, with a rickety elevator operating on the farthest end. The elevator went down to the lobby, or lower into the basement that contained a large room that could be outfitted into whatever it needed to be. 

Tonight, it was a dining room.

“Angel!” Charlie cheered, standing from her seat at the head of the table, “I’m so happy you could make it!” 

The spider nodded, grinning casually at her as he found his seat across from Vaggie ー the girl looked slightly annoyed, her eyes narrowed down at the plate of food in front of her. It appeared that Charlie had made her wait for Angel’s arrival before allowing the meal to start.

“I hope you like the food,” Charlie stated as she sat down again ー her endless energy seemed to have a mind of its own and Angel could feel her leg bouncing under the table. “It’s Italian!” A hesitant pause. “Well, it’s my best attempt at Italian. I found some old cookbooks and followed them. Everything smells good, so I hope it tastes good too. Alsoー” 

Her rambling might have continued on forever so Angel had no choice but to interrupt. “It looks great,” he offered, waving away her explanations. He wasn’t lying either! The food smelled familiar and looked remarkably similar to the things his Nonna used to make when he was alive. 

“Awesome!” Charlie cheered. “I wanted to make something special to welcome you to the family.” 

Vaggie groaned at the same time that Angel asked, “Family?” 

The word made his chest feel tight. 

Charlie barely noticed the negative energy she’d caused. “Yes! Here at the Happy Hotel, I want everyone to feel like a big, happy family! That’s why we’re going to have these family dinners.” 

The tightness in his chest began to feel heavier and heavier with each passing second. “Yeah,” he agreed weakly, “Big, happy… Family…” 

He tried to avoid thinking about how, when Nonna cooked them meals, the food was rarely eaten. 

_“Can we eat now?”_ Niss asked, his black hair flopped over his eyes ー if he didn’t cut it soon, Nonna would throw a fit. If Nonna got upset than Henroin would get angry.

Angel looked around, eyes blinking in confusion. “What?” he asked, feeling like he’d fallen into a daze. Niss and Molly sat across from him at the table.

“Can we eat now?” Vaggie repeated, her tone more frustrated than it had already been the first time.

Angel blinked. His siblings disappeared, replaced by Vaggie and Charlie.

“I don’t see why not!” the Princess laughed, picking up her fork with her usual bubbly energy. Both women were oblivious to the tornado that had picked up around Angel. “Dig in!” 

Angel turned back to his food and started to shovel it into his mouth before anyone could throw it at the wall behind his head.

After, when Charlie asked if he enjoyed the meal, he told her yes.

He hadn’t tasted a bite.


	2. Chapter 2

It had only been two weeks or so and Angel was heavily regretting his decision to move into the Happy Hotel.

Firstly, there was the issue with Fat Nuggets… Hiding him was proving to be more difficult with each passing day. The pig liked to be loud whenever possible and Angel was running out of excuses for the squealing and grunting. Vaggie was becoming increasingly more suspicious of Angel and often dropped by his room for the smallest of reasons ー _“Charlie asked me to check on you,”_ was her favourite excuse but it was obvious by the way she tried to lean around Angel that she was trying to figure out what he was up to. 

While the entire situation was annoying, it didn’t compare to the other problem.

Charlie continued to call Angel to _Family Dinners_ every weekday. The free food was beneficial, of course, but the spider found himself fidgeting with discomfort every time he sat at the table. Perhaps it would be easier if Charlie and Vaggie didn’t bear such striking resemblance to Molly and Niss… But they did and the similarities struck Angel harder with each dinner, pushing him into memories they felt like hallucinations; a trip gone wrong. 

Of course, he knew he wasn’t high. He wasn’t allowed to use substances on hotel property. There were no drugs causing the flashbacks… Just his own fucked up mind.

Ah, and then there was Val… The moth demon had not enjoyed being the last to know about Angel’s hasty move.

The phone call had been expected, especially after Charlie held a small press conference to boast the hotel's first patron. Nobody cared about her passion project, not really, but her royalty status did hold some weight and news about her activities spread fast. Val had found out from Vox, who found out from Velvet, and who knows where she grabbed her information.

Valentino was angry, that much was obvious. He didn’t like that Angel was going to be in such close proximity to a member of the royal family. The only thing that seemed to calm him was Angel’s promise that he’d have more money ー _“I don’t have to pay rent anymore!”_ he’d insisted, _“That’s more cash for you, Val!”_

Still, the spider was dreading his next meeting with the pimp… 

“ーgel? Angel?”

Angel jerked in surprise, eyes widening. Vaggie stood in front of him, a brow raised. _How long had she been there?_

“What?” he snapped, hoping his irritation sent her scurrying away. He’d been enjoying his panic-induced daydreams, _thank you very much_ , and her interruption was frustrating. He supposed it was his own fault; he’d been loitering around the lobby for an hour, bored out of his mind. 

Vaggie did not scurry away though. Instead, she rolled her eyes and pinned him with an equally irritable glare. “Your room inspection is after dinner.” 

“Room inspection?” he questioned, trying to ignore his ever-present nervousness about dinnertime.

“Yeah.” Vaggie shrugged lazily, glare softening to something indifferent. “Gotta make sure nothing is broken and that you’re not smuggling drugs in here.”

There was a loaded pause as Angel’s irritation spiked. “I’m not smugglin’ anything in here,” he responded through grit teeth.

“Then there’s no problem,” came Vaggie’s easy response.

“Lemme guess,” Angel grumbled, already turning away from Vaggie to head towards his room ー he didn’t have much time to clean his room and hide Nuggs after all ー “Your girl ordered this invasion of my privacy?”

“It’s hotel policy!” Vaggie called after him.

_Nosey bitch._

⧫⧫⧫ 

Six o’clock came around faster than Angel hoped. 

He’d just finished cleaning his room when Vaggie came to knock on his door and tell him it was dinner time ー _“And don’t be late, please,”_ she added. She didn’t sound upset anymore but Angel wasn’t going to trust that she was ready to be nice… 

Still, he obediently left his room and followed only a few steps behind Vaggie. The dining room looked the same as every other night, this time featuring Japanese cuisine; Charlie liked having a theme each evening.

The Princess was already sitting at the table when they arrived and Vaggie was quick to take the seat next to her. 

Angel rolled his eyes dramatically when the action gave Charlie a dopey, lovestruck grin. 

“Ramen and sushi?” he questioned as he took his seat, “Do noodles and raw fish go well together?”

Charlie laughed. “I’m not sure!” she admitted, “But it’s all homemade. I found a Japanese cookbook last week andー” 

Angel held up a hand. “Spare me the details.” He grabbed his chopsticks and easily twirled them between his fingers. “Let’s eat?” The quicker this was over, the better.

Luckily, nobody questioned his insistence. They all grabbed their food and started eating. 

Unluckily, Charlie seemed to be in a chatty mood. 

“Vaggie tells me you haven’t left the hotel very much since you got here,” she started, sending Angel a gentle smile while she lifted a piece of salmon. “Do you like it here?”

He offered a curt nod but said nothing, shoving warm noodles into his mouth. He was surprised to find that they tasted incredible.

“Did you get some time off of work?” Charlie continued after swallowing her fish. “I thought you’d be gone more often in the evenings.”

Angel shrugged. “Val doesn’t want to see me right now,” he answered easily. “I’ll be going back soon.” 

Charlie nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer. “Well, if you need any financial help until then, don’t hesitate to ask. We’ll help you figure something out.” 

The spider could barely hold back his scoff. “Sure.”

He didn’t have time to take in the hurt look on Charlie's face before Vaggie was standing up with an impressive glare. “Don’t talk to her like that! She literally just offered to help you.”

“Yeah?” Angel smirked, “Well, I’ll be more inclined to believe she can help me with money when this dump of a hotel stops looking like an abandoned factory. She should stop making promises she can’t keep.”

Vaggie’s frown deepened and she huffed angrily. “She’s trying to be nice to you,” she insisted.

“That’s news to me,” Angel laughed. He stood as well now, glaring down at Vaggie ー his height was always helpful in an argument. Being taller made him feel more in control of the situation, somehow. “She’s always asking you to snoop on me, right? How is that nice?”

Charlie stood up now, arms outstretched as though she could push their anger away from each other. “Let’s calm down,” she suggested through a forced smile, “Yelling doesn't solve anything.” She sent a pleading look towards her girlfriend before turning to Angel. “I haven’t asked Vaggie to snoop, Angel, I promise. I just wantedー” 

“Oh!” Angel’s grin grew sinister as he glared across the table at Vaggie. “So you’ve just been pestering me and using Princess-Sunshine as your excuse, huh? You don’t trust me. You think I’m gonna do something to her precious hotel?” He threw his arms out to gesture around them. “News flash: I don’t have to do anything! Nobody else is comin’ because this whole operation is a big sham!” 

The yelling around the table suddenly hit him with such clarity that he jerked back in surprise. 

_Niss glared at him from the adjacent seat, beady black eyes filled with distaste and frustration. “You can’t act like a child forever,” he insisted, “Dressin’ up and changing your name… Fuck, what would dad say if he eva’ met Angel, huh? You’re living in a fantasy world!”_

_“Calm down, Niss,” Molly cooed, standing at the head of the table with her hands stretched towards both of her brothers. “If Anthony wants to dress up and call himself Angel, well, I just don’t see what is so wrong with that. Besides, when he takes over for daddy he won’t have timeー”_

“I’m not taking dad's place!” Angel screamed, “I don’t want to be a part of this family!” 

He wasn’t aware that he’d closed his eyes until he opened them. He wasn’t aware that he was gripping his hair until his scalp started to hurt. He wasn’t aware he had fallen until his tailbone protested against the hardwood floor.

In front of him, Molly was crouched with a worried expression ー no, not Molly.

Charlie. The Princess was crouched in front of him with a worried expression. 

Niss stood behind herー 

Vaggie stood behind her, arms crossed as though frustrated but her expression narrowed with obvious concern. Angel stared at her for much longer than he meant to.

“Angel? Are you alright?”

The spider glanced back at Charlie. “I’m fine,” he muttered.

“Why don’t you head back to your room,” Charlie suggested, “I think you need some time to yourself.”

He nodded in agreement and stood up. It was silent as he made his way out of the room.

⧫⧫⧫ 

Once again, Angel found himself fighting his pet. 

After escaping dinner, tears threatening his eyes, Angel immediately fell into bed with the animal snuggled close to his chest. He knew those dinners were stirring up old memories… He should never have come to the hotel in the first place.

He’d wallowed for at least half an hour before remembering that his room was supposed to be inspected. If Vaggie was telling the truth about it being _Hotel Policy_ , then his little outburst wasn’t going to change anything… 

This time Angel had decided to hide the pig in the linen closet. He suspected that the bathroom would be checked for drugs and ー seeing as Vaggie seemed suspicious of everything ー the walk-in closet would be checked as well. The linen closet was the only option left.

But it was small and Fat Nuggets could barely turn in his spot, much less trot around.

“I know,” Angel cooed in sympathy, sitting on the floor in front of the whining pig. “It sucks, I know, but it’s just for a bit. You’re the only thing I’m smugglin’ so they won’t be here long.” 

Though the pig couldn’t possibly understand, he grunted and laid down in the limited closet space. 

“Thank you, sugar,” Angel praised sweetly, stroking down the pigs back with gentle hands. 

They sat there together quietly until someone knocked on the door. “That’ll be them,” Angel whispered, “Please be quiet, Nuggies.” With a final stern look, he closed the door on the pig. 

With a deep breath and a fake grin, Angel opened the bedroom door. “Alright Vaggie, do your worstー” He paused abruptly. It wasn’t Vaggie at the door… “Princess? Er, I meanー Charlie… What're you doin’ here?”

Her smile appeared to be smaller than usual but she seemed to be valiantly attempting it anyway. “Your room inspection,” she replied simply.

“Oh… Yeah.” He awkwardly stood to the side to allow her entry. “I guess I assumed Vaggie would do that. She’s the one who seems to think I’m hidin’ shit.” 

To Angel’s surprise, Charlie frowned at him. “Once we have more patrons, this will be routine for everyone ー she was not singling you out.” She confidently stepped into the room and made her way to the bed. “She does think you’re hiding something,” she admitted with a sigh, “But you’ve also been really mean to her.” 

Something about the way Charlie spoke made guilt eat away at Angel’s stomach. He suddenly felt queasy and more nervous than before.

The Princess scanned over the bed with her eyes, lifted the pillows slightly, ducked down to check underneath, and then moved on. Angel followed her to the bathroom, fingers tapping against his arms as a reaction to his growing nerves. “Am I at a passing grade so far?” he asked, hoping his tone sounded more like a joke than a genuine question. 

Charlie laughed politely ー Angel was grateful that she didn’t seem as angry anymore ー and nodded. “Everything looks fine so far. Did you clean up?”

The spider shrugged. “Yeah, sorta,” he admitted. 

“I should tell you,” Charlie hummed as she glanced around the bathroom, “We have a three-strikes system. You won’t be thrown out for one mistake and, if you do use your three chances, we won’t just send you to the streets. You’ll be given a three-week notice and a support system.” 

Why would they waste cash on someone they’d given up on? It was too good to be true ー naturally, Angel assumed it was bullshit. Rather than voice his disbelief and suspicions, he smiled at her. “Good to know.” 

She hummed in acknowledgement but her face gave her away; she knew he didn’t trust her.

When the bathroom was finished, Angel followed Charlie back to the main room. She turned to his walk-in closet and merely glanced inside before hesitating. She shot him a nervous smile. “I think… I don’t want to wreck any of your drag stuff, y’know? Maybe I’ll skip looking in there… It can be our secret?”

He stared at her for a long moment, incredulous, before nodding. “Sure.” Did she really trust him that much after such a short time? “So we’re all done?”

“Basically,” Charlie assured, “I just wanna check the linen closet to make sure you have enoughー” She was moving before Angel had processed enough to stop her, hand reaching out to open the door. 

“Wait!” he panicked, but it was too late; Fat Nuggets came running out of his prison with an excited squeal and Charlie jumped back in fright. Angel couldn’t help but groan, head falling into his hands. “Damn it…” 

“That…” Charlie began, watching with wide eyes as the spider leaned down to pick up the animal, “... is a pig.”

Panic immediately burned through Angel’s chest. He clutched Nugg’s closer for comfort and stared at the floor. “Please don’t take him,” he begged quietly, “I’ll leave, I’ll find somebody else to stay at the hotel for you, but you can’t take Fat Nuggets. Please.” 

A long silence passed between them and each second caused Angel’s anxiety to grow larger. He’d really messed up now, huh? First the fiasco at dinner and now this? 

Finally, Charlie drew closer ー he could see her feet approaching. “Can I _please_ hold him?”

The tone of her voice, a whisper bordering on an excited squeal, surprised him. He looked up quickly and found that Charlie’s hands were held out and she was practically vibrating ー The Princess looked overjoyed. 

He hesitated for a second before nodding and offering the pig to her. Fat Nuggets gave no complaints, happy to be receiving any attention at all. 

“He’s so cute,” Charlie whispered, “Oh gosh, Angel, he is so cute.” 

The spider couldn’t help but smirk slightly. “Why are you whispering?” 

“Because he is so cute,” she whispered in reply, her smile only growing as she hugged Fat Nuggets and gently stroked his ears. 

They fell into mutual silence again, this time interrupted by Charlie’s happy cooing and quiet whispers. Eventually, she lifted Fat Nuggets and offered him back to Angel. “You don’t have to leave,” she told him with a smile, “And you definitely don’t have to get rid of him.” 

Angel’s shoulder immediately dropped with relief. 

“However!” Charlie continued, and now she seemed more firm, “You owe Vaggie an apology. She suspected you were hiding something and she was right.” 

That… was fair. Angel nodded.

“Why didn’t you just tell us you had a pet?” Charlie asked, moving to sit on the edge of the bed.

Holding Nuggs close to his chest once again, Angel followed and sat beside the Princess. He sighed heavily and pressed his face into the pig, hoping to hide his embarrassment. “I thought you’d confiscate him,” he admitted weakly, “I need this room but I need him too… I didn’t wanna risk losing either.”

From the corner of his vision, he could see Charlie nodding in understanding. “Okay.” 

He glanced towards her, sceptical of the easy reply. “Okay?” 

“Okay,” she confirmed, nodding resolutely. “I understand that. I wish you had said something sooner but… Well, there’s nothing to do about it now.” She stood off the bed and offered him a smile. “You can keep him here, okay? It never occurred to me that anybody would have pets here but I certainly don’t have a problem with it.” 

Angel nodded. Charlie was being nice and he thought that it might be genuine. She actually cared about his well being, didn’t she? Perhaps even more than that, she cared about the hotel… 

And he had said that _the whole operation was a sham._

He felt like an ass.

“Look, Charlie, I know you said I owe Vaggie an apologyー” 

“You do,” she interrupted sternly. 

He winced, nodded, then continued. “Yeah, I do, but I also owe you one.” He paused, shifting to drop Fat Nuggets to the floor. “What I said at dinner, about the hotelー” 

She cut him off with a wave of her hand. “Apology accepted,” she told him, smiling so sweetly that Angel had to look away. “I just hope you’re okay now… That was an impressive panic attack.” 

Angel huffed. “I don’t get panic attacksー” 

“Yes, you do,” Charlie told him, stern and confident, “I’m not a medical profession but you probably have PTSD, Angel. You definitely have some sort of panic disorder.” At the sight of his frowning face, she sighed and offered him _another_ smile ー Angel wondered when she would run out. “There’s nothing wrong with having a mental illness. If you want, I can try to help you find a therapist?” 

Angel immediately shook his head, adamant that he didn’t need a shrink to tell him he was fucked up; he already knew that information.

Charlie’s smile didn’t weaken in the slightest. “One step at a time, then,” she agreed, “Just let me know if you change your mind.” She stood off the bed and made her way towards the door. “If you need anything, or if Fat Nuggets needs anything, just let me or Vaggie know. We both want to help you.”

“Okay,” Angel agreed because, for the first time, he believed her.

**Author's Note:**

> I had a lot of fun working on this story! If you're interested in commissioning me you can find me on Tumblr @finally-isaac
> 
> I'd like to note that Vaggie is not the villain of this story. I love Vaggie and Angel equally so I won't tolerate anyone hating Vaggie in the comments. Thank you!


End file.
